Senior Technical Manager – Life Sciences Ref: 60082

As part of our recruitment approach, internal candidates will receive priority consideration at the shortlisting stage.

About the role

The Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine (FoSEM) is seeking an experienced Senior Technical Manager to lead our committed technical teams across the School of Life Sciences. This is a fantastic opportunity for a highly motivated, ambitious and hard working technical professional to advance their career in technical management, specifically within life sciences. 

As Senior Technical Manager (Life Sciences) you will provide leadership, development and professional operational management of core technical services in research labs (inc. Biochemistry areas, Neuroscience, Ecology & Evolution, Genome Damage & Stability Center, Chemistry and Sussex Drug Discovery Center) to ensure the delivery of high quality, effective and flexible support to academics, students and researchers. 

This is a pivotal position within the school leading multidisciplinary technical teams, driving service excellence and helping to shape the future direction of our technical services, supporting researchers tackling some of society’s biggest health and environmental challenges.  

You will be expected to be involved with key institutional initiatives such as the Technician Commitment and infrastructure/building projects to improve our facilities and ensure regulatory compliance (e.g. COSHH, DSEAR, HTA, LEV).

You will ensure technical operations in research laboratories run smoothly on a day-to-day basis overseeing key functions across the Life Science Estate including but not limited to: 

• Prep Rooms
• Chemical Stores 
• Gas Stores and Manifolds
• Liquid Nitrogen facilities
• ULT Freezer facilities
• Centrifuge facilities 

About you

We are looking for a confident technical leader with substantial experience managing laboratories or facilities, alongside a strong commitment to operational excellence & safety.

You should bring:

• Proven success leading and developing technical teams within a life/health science discipline
• Experience managing facilities, technical projects, budgets and operational resources.
• Strong practical knowledge of equipment and processes relevant to life science and chemical laboratories.
• A thorough understanding of health and safety regulations and their application within laboratory environments.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical audiences.
• A proactive, solutions-focused mindset and a passion for supporting education, research and innovation
• A thorough understanding of health and safety regulations and their application 

This challenging and varied role will call for change and project management experience. You will be able to think strategically with a positive focus and a dedication to providing excellent customer service and compliance.

About our School

In the School of Life Sciences we strive to understand the mechanisms that drive biological and chemical processes and to develop innovative and diverse approaches to enhance human health, technology and the environment. We undertake multidisciplinary research, teaching and engagement across a wide range of subjects, from Chemistry through Cellular and Molecular Biosciences to Conservation Biology. 

The School comprises five Departments: Biochemistry & Biomedicine, Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Neuroscience, Ecology & Evolution and Chemistry. We also house the Sussex Drug Discovery Centre which works to deliver the bench-to-bedside translation of our discoveries. The breadth and depth of our cutting-edge research and innovative teaching practice is delivered by a diverse community who work across boundaries to deliver excellence, engage with real world problems and produce impact. 

We pride ourselves on our world-leading research and have a strong research economy, with approximately 50% of our income stemming from research and an active grant portfolio of over £50 million. We host or form part of three University Centres of Excellence: the Genome Damage and Stability Centre, Sussex Neuroscience and Sussex Sustainability Research Programme. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, 90.6 % of our Biological Sciences outputs and 84.8% of our Chemistry outputs were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. We are proud that in both areas, 100% of our Impact cases were rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

The School is committed to the University’s core values of kindness, integrity, inclusion, collaboration and courage. We believe that equality, diversity and inclusion is everyone’s responsibility and aim to provide a friendly and supportive environment for all who work, study and visit the School of Life Sciences. 

Please find further information regarding the School of Life Sciences on our website.

The School of Life Sciences is proud to hold a Silver Athena Swann Award. 

Why work here

Our university is situated off the A27, next to the beautiful South Downs where you will enjoy everything that our 150-acre campus has to offer. We are accessible by public transport; Falmer train station is a five-minute walk to campus and several bus stops are located within campus. We also have dedicated cycling paths and encourage our staff to use these with our offering of a cycle to work scheme.  

Sussex is a renowned, multi-accredited, research-led International University and this is only possible because of the people that work here. Whether you are a member of Faculty, part of a Professional Services team or a Student, it’s our people that make us great and we want you to be part of that. 

Find out more about our reward and benefits package. 

Find out about our equality, diversity and inclusion. 

Further Key Information 

Please contact Tom Hollin (t.hollin@sussex.ac.uk / +44 1273 075845) for informal enquiries.

We welcome applications from internal and external applicants.  Internal applicants will be prioritised for interview where they meet the essential criteria or could do so with a reasonable amount of training.

The University is committed to equality and valuing diversity, and applications are particularly welcomed from women and black and minority ethnic candidates, who are under-represented in academic [TH1] posts in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) at Sussex. 

The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.

Eligibility

Visa Sponsorship Queries: This role may be eligible for sponsorship. Please consult our Skilled Worker Visa information page  for further information about Visa Sponsorship.

The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK.